Annual Report from Trustees
Jan 2026
1. Financial Statement
The Financial statement is included below. The only expenditure this year has been costs associated with the IGovS Website. Funds are low but costs are also minimal and will remain so until June 2027 when the website and domain fees will be due (see paragraph 5, risk a). This cost will exceed current funds so a new source of income will be necessary for the long term future of the organisation.
Figure 1 Financial Statement
2. Register of Members
Our register of Members shows that we are relatively consistent at 28 members plus the Governance Professional. All bar one of the members engage on a regular basis. Time given freely does vary considerably member to member, however it has always been a key principle of IGovS that members give what time they can as long as they contribute in some way.
Due to the age of our members, further recruitment is ongoing and the Trustees have developed a robust process which allows those who were not NLGs to become members if they demonstrate the necessary skills, provide relative evidence and agree to provide some free support. We have our first candidate going through the process in Jan 2026 (see paragraph 5, risk b).
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3. Support requests.
Requests for our services are increasing. Now into our 4th year of operations, the need for bespoke support to all those involved in leading governance is very real and the demand for our free service is growing year on year.
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2025 – 88 requests
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2023 – 68 requests
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2022 – 50 requests
We have successfully met all of these requests. At the completion of each request a feedback form is sent to those seeking support, to which we had 19 returns, all were positive (see figure 2).
Figure 2 Feedback data
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4. Ongoing strategies
We have 3 ongoing strategies.
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a) Board Builder with Governors for Schools (G4S) and IGovS – this is a package of support available to schools in need of support and in receipt of funding from the DfE. As part of this IGovS can deliver a selection of bespoke training courses for which our members will be paid a fee. In addition the Taking the Chair course will be part of the package but will remain free. Disappointingly, the board builder initiative has failed to produce results although the take up for Taking the Chair has significantly increased throughout the year.
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b) IGovS Quality Assessed ERGs – A template has been produced and all members who wish to carry out IGovS ERGs have been briefed on its use with the key factor being the appointment of a QA partner who will ensure consistency of content without affecting the members own approach. We have engaged with GovernorHub to riase the profile of both ERGs and our training courses.
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c) We have had a proposal from G4S to run a course for new Trustees, similar to Taking the Chair course. This will be a one off session, run 3 times per year and facilitated by one of our members. The aim will be to give these new Trustees an idea of what their role will be, what to expect at their first meeting and who the other key people may be around the board table. IGovS will receive a to be agreed fee for facilitating the course, this will be funded by G4S from the commission they receive for recruiting new Trustees nationally. Some of the fee will be paid to the member leading the session, some will be retained by IGovS, rates to be determined and agreed with all members.
The Trustees need agreement from the members to explore this proposal and a volunteer to develop some course content. Facilitating the course will be open to anyone who wishes to be considered, but priority will be given to whoever develops the content.
5. Risks
- (a) Fund raising – we need to find a regular but minimal source of income to keep the website going. The fees required are:
| Item | Cycle | Next Due | Annual Cost | Funds needed every 3years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business email | Annual | Nov 2026 | £80 | £240 |
| Domain name | 3 yearly | Jun 2027 | £14.67 | £44 |
| Site Fee | 3 yearly | Jun 2027 | £208.67 | £626 |
| Total | ~ | ~ | £303.33 | £910 |
Table 1 Website costs
If we do not bring in funds from any of the ongoing strategies at paragraph 4, it is possible we will have to charge members a small annual membership fee to remain part of the organisation. This is estimated at £15 per year if all members subscribe.
- (b) Membership –we still need to recruit new members in the coming year, but it is hoped that the new strategy of opening membership up to those who weren’t ex-NLGs, may help.
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Statement of Confirmation
The Trustees confirm that, to the best of their knowledge and belief, this annual report provides a true and fair reflection of the current position, activities, and financial status of IGovS as of January 2026. The information contained herein is accurate and complete, representing the organisations operations and outlook for the coming year.
Signed on behalf of the Trustees,
Sean Westaway Chair of IGovS